1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera device that is installed on a vehicle such as a bus, and can view the vicinity of the vehicle within the visual field.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with a camera installed on a vehicle and a monitor provided in a driver's seat, a driver can view the vicinity of the vehicle within the visual field of the camera. Particularly in a vehicle such as a bus, passengers are boarding and de-boarding in the vicinity of the vehicle at a high frequency such that it is necessary to ensure a sufficient range of a visual field for the purpose of safety, and for example, according to Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 8-113082, a camera is used while being mounted on the exterior of the vehicle.
When the camera is mounted on the exterior of the vehicle as such, the camera is required to be designed in harmony with the vehicle, and to have robustness against contact between the camera and roadside trees or the like. Particularly in a bus or the like, cameras affect passengers' impression of the bus or the like, and thus the cameras installed on a side part (the vicinity of a boarding entrance of the bus) and a rear part of the vehicle are required to have a uniform shape from the viewpoint of design.
However, when a guard portion has been provided to protect a lens cover from roadside trees or the like in preparation for a case of the camera being installed on the side part of the vehicle, if the camera is installed on the rear part of the vehicle, a rearward visual field is limited by the guard portion, which is a problem. For this reason, the camera is required to be well designed, and the rearward visual field of the camera is required not to be limited by the guard portion even if the camera is installed on the rear part of the vehicle.